Learning
by colitas
Summary: Modern AU. There are a lot of things that happen in this neighborhood. Little Sakura and Little Sasuke get a new neighbor. Itachi gets into the (in)famous group of the school, the Akatsuki. Kurenai gets a part-time job at the local kindergarten. Yamato gets an ominous roommate for his new college. One-shots for everyone with slight focus on the main trio.


**Disclaimer: Naruto's not mine and everyone knows that.**

[-ㅂ-]

It was a Monday morning, much to the dismay of many teens and adults. One of them was Uchiha Fugaku.

"Honey," He called out to the kitchen with bored eyes, "are the kids up yet?" His busy hands fumbled with the necktie he was currently wearing with dexterity and he took one glance at himself before stepping out to the hall. Fugaku heard Mikoto's voice reply.

"Itachi's waking Sasuke up!" The husband smiled as the smell of a warm breakfast - rice and miso was good enough for him - greeted him. He continued walking as he heard premature voices, triggering a warmth in his chest.

"Wake up, otouto." Itachi's calmness was what most stood out in his voice. One was able to tell who he was right off the bat. "You'll be late for kindergarten."

"..I don't wanna, ani..." Sasuke's voice was muffled, probably from the blanket he had curled into. Fugaku stopped in front of his youngest son's bedroom, taking a peek into the scenery inside. With his scrutinizing onyx eye, he watched Itachi, junior high schooler in his glory, bend over the form of a ball of blankets. The father of two was able to hear Itachi's unfaltered voice say the following.

"Sakura-chan is waiting outside."

And a panicked bundle of raven hair shot out of the bed, rolled off to the wall with the wardrobe and screamed all the while. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier!" Itachi triumphantly got out of the room as his father chuckled softly and his little brother changing and washing at the speed a five year old could muster. Fugaku smirked, patting his eldest's shoulder.

"You're a genius, Itachi."

"You know me, outosan."

They were foolish to forget how the last born would eventually found the truth behind the trick and ran straight to the one to hear all of his problems. Their smiles would be dropped as Mikoto would scold them with a dramatic Sasuke holding onto her apron.

Breakfast on a Monday wasn't usually as lively as this one. Itachi silently listened to Mikoto's lecture while chewing on the food given and nodded. Sasuke's sobs that had begun after realizing how much Sakura must have waited were halted with the reassurance from his older brother. Black eyes beaming quietly at the sight of such exchange of family love, Fugaku announced his departure for work. All three of them gave a goodbye and Fugaku didn't complain even as he got onto his car, his wife assuring his son that his best friend was indeed not waiting outside of their home. While he did have great ambitions that his family had shoved at him as a 'duty for the clan', he was a man that appreciated the smaller things in life.

Monday didn't seem to be as bad as it seemed anymore as thoughts of his small but happy family lingered in Uchiha Fugaku's mind.

[-ㅂ-]

Back to the Uchiha province, Sasuke held his big brother's hand tightly with a smile after being promised to be taken to the park afterwards by Itachi (and their forceful mother). Being in kindergarten, Uchiha Sasuke was a five years old who had inherited the black and dark navy scheme from his mother and the silent emotional reactions from his father. According to his dear mother, he shared Itachi's wits as well and he was very proud of that. As little Sasuke inhaled a good portion of air and Itachi smiled gently at the adorable sight, Mikoto called them goodbye and the two brothers replied the same as they opened the front door into the morning air. Sasuke beamed at the welcoming atmosphere and held onto his backpack full of his own stationary. Itachi blinked slowly, clutching his own bag that slouched over his shoulder.

"Itachi-san!" Two pairs of dark eyes twinkled at the voice that came from their right.

[-ㅂ-]

"Itachi-chan!" One fluffy Sakura cackled as she ran to hug her neighbor who nodded at her. He allowed a swift smile before returning to his stoic self.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan." The teen greeted her as he steadily pulled his other hand which was connected to another, albeit tinier. The pinkette gasped in delight at the sight of the smaller Uchiha that came into her view.

"Sasuke-chan!" She hobbled to the boy who smiled widely at her.

"Sakura-chan!" Little Sasuke returned the hug given to him which had long become a routine. "Let's go to the swings today!" With a bright tone, he excitedly began to tell his best friend his newest development. "Outosan decided to teach me martial arts! The first thing I learned was how to move better so I could beat opponents. I can push the swing farther now!" The girl nodded eagerly until she pondered and frowned a little, tilting her head.

"What is opponents, Sasuke-chan?" She asked feeling a bit disappointed with herself. Sasuke used bigger vocabulary than she did with his Father telling him this and that. While the kind boy never made fun of her in that aspect, it frustrated Sakura to not know. Her curiosity was an endless well asking to be filled which was developing into an eagerness for knowledge. Noted by one of the kindergarten teachers, Shizune had told her parents to be very open to her for she would try to consume all the information the pinkette could.

"It means enemy or foe." Itachi explained gently as he eyed the streets for any signs for older students. Uchiha Itachi was well known to be cold, pragmatic and silent and he preferred to be seen as such to ignore public - feminine, to be precise - attention. One of the only exceptions was his neighbors next door with little Haruno Sakura, his little brother's playmate and-

"Ah, Itachi-chan!" A singing voice rang out from the house. Itachi smiled despite himself at the sight of another pink-haired figure. Older, bigger and taller, Haruno Icho jumped out the front steps to land in front of the trio. With a glowing smile plastered to her lips, Haruno Icho waved at them. "Sasuke-chan, good morning to you too!" Icho was Sakura's older sister and had entered Middle School these years. Having grown up with Itachi, she was one of the only females to not stare at the infamously handsome Uchiha Itachi and not be a fangirl. Bash and forward, she was like an opposite of him. They had grown together for more than ten years as neighbors to accept their differences and grow their relationship into a more caring than friends, resembling siblings.

"Icho-chan," Itachi returned the friendly greeting with a glance at his grinning brother who also waved at the girl, "have you gotten used to middle school enough?" At that, the older Haruno pouted and her shoulder went limp, emmiting the aura of 'I'm a loser forgive me.'

"It's horrible!" Sakura waved her arms around with the widest eyes. "Icho-nee told me how the school ranked people according to their text scores!" Sasuke's eyes widened. He had known how the Big Kids AKA students of Middle School and High School were graded heavily, unlike the fun kindergarten he was currently attending to but he didn't know the torture began from Middle School.

"Are you having trouble with any subject?" Itachi inwardly laughed at the horrified expression of the two kindergarteners that were completely oblivious to the responsibility of the name 'grades'. Despite this, they were well informed of how scary it was and would shudder at the topic. Icho's reaction would encourage them to take this attitude to a whole new level. The Uchiha genius decided he had to alleviate the 'gradephobia' the two (adorable) little friends were developing by demonstrating that it wasn't all _that_ bad. "I could always help you." At the end of that phrase, Zombie Icho straightened up as if she hadn't been dying in the inside a moment ago.

"Your help is a blessing, Itachi-chan!" And Icho glomped her childhood-friend who merely patted her in return. "Seriously, you're a savior." Icho's flat voice expressed all her sincerity and Itachi simply smiled at her antics. He was used to her fickle behavior and really, he enjoyed it.

"Now, let's go! We'll never give up on this road and until we reach the end, we'll keep trying and trying!" Sasuke announced the departure of the four's journey to school with his fist in the air and a spontaneous dramatic speech, a posture that Sakura copied with her own over the Uchiha's creating an x. After their older siblings, knowing that this was derived from the children's favorite show that was about overpowered ninjas, clapped in the background, the two Small Kids' faces lit like a lantern.

"Ooohh! That was _sooo_ awesome!" An excited and energetic voice yelled and the Harunos and Uchihas knew that the compliment was directed to them. To their far right - by that meaning that it was the right of the Haruno house, which was in the right of the Uchiha place - was standing a small boy of the brightest colors. Clear and pure blue eyes sparkling in admiration, gentle yellow strokes of hair decorating the small head and whisker like features lanced across over each cheek. Judging by the plain white uniform and the striking orange backpack, the child attended the same kindergarten as Sakura and Sasuke. Itachi noted himself to bribe the new individual into not telling anyone about his secret persona.

_Is blackmailing the more suitable term?_ The Uchiha pondered when Sakura pointed at the new boy a finger.

"Who are you?!" She bawled shaking her pastel pink bangs around with another dramatic pose. Sasuke immediately followed with a cry of "Yes! Answer the question!" The boy wasn't frightened or startled at all at the possibly offending gesture. He swung his arms into a cross and immediately released them apart into the air.

"I am Namikaze Naruto!" The boy answered in a voice that seemed lit with all its lightness and jolliness. "I am a member of the Namikaze Clan and we're known to be fast as the thunder that travels the night skies!" At the exaggerated introduction as well as the familiarity of it, Sakura and Sasuke gasped. But that wasn't all as the shift Namikaze proceeded into crossing his arms and grinning. "I moved here last week and I'm going to the Konoha Kindergarten!"

Icho slapped her hand over her mouth to stop her giggles from escaping at the sight of such cuteness. She knew that this was a serious thing between the Small Kids, having learned the hard way from Sasuke. Itachi was already forming a plan to trick the new kid next door into shutting his mouth forever. It was going to be very, _very_ easy with the characteristics shown by the bundle of yellow energy. Both of the two Big Kids' attention was naturally driven as Sakura took a deep breath and drew a large (for her body size) circle with her arm. She then lashed her small limb across the imaginary circle with her other one folded with force.

"I am Haruno Sakura!" She shouted (or squealed in the BK's opinion) as she maintained her positioned. "I am a member of the Haruno Clan and we're known to blow the deadliest of blows that can break the very earth!" The pinkette smiled as the boy, Naruto, gasped again in respect and also crossed her arms. She stole a glance from the boy next to her. Sasuke smirked. He was prepared.

"I am Uchiha Sasuke!" The dark-haired boy swirled his arms around thrusted them into the opposite direction of Sakura's introduction. "I am a member of the Uchiha Clan and we're known to see through every trick and lie and find the truth!" Naruto let out a "Oooohh-!" of awe and Sasuke finished with his own cross of arms, his back against Sakura's. Again, the Big Kids clapped in the background. As soon as the audial appreciation ended, the three kids ran to each other to acquaint the new kid(s). Icho and Itachi shared a silent conversation with their eyes as shouts and squeals in immature voice were carried on the early Monday morning.

"You like 'The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Ninjas'?!"

"I know the words to the intro!"

"Are you named after Naruto?!"

"Dad told me he was named after me!"

"That's so cool!"

"Your poses were cool, too!"

"Yours was awesome!"

"Let's be friends!" All three of them declared at the same time. Icho finally let go of her laughter which was buried under the cheering of the newly banded trio and Itachi took his phone out to look at the time. He dragged a cackling Haruno to the chatting and hyperactive children and made sure no one was watching him performing out of character behavior.

"Nice to meet you, Naruto-kun." He calmly broke into the sounds of joy and three faces of baby fat snapped into his direction - up. "I'm Uchiha Itachi, older brother to Sasuke here." Patting Sasuke's hair, he introduced himself to a gawking Naruto who nodded and Sasuke beamed with pride. "This," The high schooler tugged onto Icho's collar of the Middle School uniform, "is Haruno Icho, older sister to Sakura-chan." It was Sakura's turn to smile with all her teeth showing with joy. "You all three seemed to have decided to be friends." Three heads nodded eagerly as one and Icho let another howl of laughter, something that the new boy tilted his head at. "Why don't Icho-chan and I take you to kindergarten?" Naruto's jaw parted in amazement of such offer.

"You _Big Kids_ are going to take me?" He blinked, making sure that he was still in real life.

"Yeah, onee-san and onii-san are cool like that!" Sakura threw her short arms into the air.

"And we're friends from now on!"

Naruto stared for a moment and his face broke into the biggest grin that was shown from any of the minors. Despite the different reactions and private thoughts, they all agreed in one thing.

It was the start of a beautiful friendship.

[-ㅂ-]

Yeah, another Naruto fic.

**_Reminder: I'm not in the fandom!_**

But having such cutie and fluffy stuff already and I'm been feeling about the death in the manga series, I decided to post this one. There are just so many things that could be fixed that goes wrong in the series.

This is modern AU Naruto in Japan setting with one-shots and drabbles about everyone. Everyone I bother about and I do included minor character such as Yamato - he doesn't get enough love. This is written for the pure pleasure of fluffy moments. Nobody gets killed, everyone's happy and the minors are in schools. Hence Namikaze Naruto. He moved in nextdoor of Sakura with his very much alive parents. I'm following the Japanese (I think) school system.

-Kindergarten

-Elementary School (1-6th grade)

-Middle School (7-9th grade)

-High School (10-12th grade)

Haruno Icho is Sakura's bigger sister who was supposed to be Inner Sakura. That's the more bashful personality for. Since I couldn't just name her Haruno Inner, - which I almost did - I named her after another tree, the maidenhair tree. **ICHO IS SUPPOSED TO BE INNER SAKURA.** This is important cause she represents the crackier side of Sakura and female presence with all the boys around.

This was initially to have a friendly relationship between Sakura with the Akatsuki, that grows to treat her like their own little sister. FLUFF FLUFF. But since she's not the only cutie here, I decided to add everyone into the mix. Haha, have fun and this one will be based on my awkward knowledge of the world of kids. Good luck.

**Small Kids** and** Big Kids** are terms to refer to you know, that age gap that you used to admire or whatever? It's official in here so remember!

My second attempt to interact with my readers! Question and answers, guys!

**Q:** Who would like to see most in this modern setting every single character (probably) alive? No dying here, remember.


End file.
